Contributors: Noah Berland MD, Smruti Desai DO, Sharland Johnson MD, and Jessica Stetz MD
The torture and murder of George Floyd by police officers is an assault on human life and decency that all Emergency Physicians must condemn and fight against. Those of us who watched the video of Mr. Floyd’s killing were overcome with a sense of shock and horror as breath and life left his body. As Emergency Physicians, it is not only our job to save lives, but also our duty to prevent and reduce harm to our communities. At present, our community in Central Brooklyn, which is predominantly Caribbean-American/African-American, does not and cannot feel safe when those tasked with protecting us are attacking their families. As demonstrated time and time again, this fear is not unfounded, and though it is something that most allies never have to experience, we as emergency medicine physicians are familiar with the destruction it causes. Consequently, we must use our unique position as healthcare providers and advocates to stand against racist policing.
According to Mapping Police Violence, police officers have been involved with the deaths of 7666 people in the United States between 2013 and 2019. Black people make up 13% of the country’s population but have constituted 24% of these killings. Black people are 2.5 times more likely than white people to be killed by police. Eight of the 100 largest city police departments kill black men at higher rates than the overall US murder rate. Yes, this is unjust. Yes, this is racism-induced violence. And yes, this is a public health crisis. We are here to serve our patients and communities and we must not stand idly by as they are brutalized by a broken and racist system.
COVID-19 has only made matters worse for our communities. The East Flatbush black community was affected disproportionately by the virus, not just in number of deaths and extent of morbidity compared to the rest of NYC, but also with large scale economic strangulation from the consequent lockdown. And lest we forget – even before COVID, before an entire population struggled to breathe in EDs and ICUs, this very population has also struggled to breathe under systemic violence for decades. These issues are not unrelated. They trace back to a history of inequality and racism that have continued and will continue until we dismantle them.
We Emergency Medicine Residents of Kings County Hospital and SUNY Downstate support the people protesting against police violence,and directly call on the police and mayor to put an end to police violence against all people, not just those with white privilege. We also call on the Mayor to protect the protesters and ask the NYPD to take a knee and walk with us, to prove to us that they can change, to prove to us that they can be different, rather than continuing a bloody tradition of assault on protesters. The city must fund our communities not murder them. We call on all healthcare providers to stand up against police brutality and racism in this country.
WE STAND WITH YOU
Join us on Thursday June 4th at 450 Clarkson Ave at 2pm, where we will gather to remember everyone like George Floyd, and help us fight for change. This demonstration will be to mobilize our hospital communities to work together on community advocacy initiatives, however small, however big. We are here to serve you, East Flatbush, and we are proud to be here for you.
We stand with you: #BLACKLIVESMATTER #WHITECOATS4BLACKLIVES
#SAYTHEIRNAMES
ERIC GARNER – JOHN CRAWFORD III – MICHAEL BROWN – EZELL FORD DANTE PARKER – MICHELLE CUSSEAUX – LAQUAN MCDONALD – TANISHA ANDERSON – AKAI GURLEY – TAMIR RICE – RUMAIN BRISBON – JERAME REID – GEORGE MANN – MATTHEW AJIBADE – FRANK SMART – NATASHA MCKENNA – TONY ROBINSON – ANTHONY HILL – MYA HALL – PHILLIP WHITE-ERIC HARRIS – WALTER SCOTT – WILLIAM CHAPMAN II – ALEXIA CHRISTIAN – BRENDON GLENN – VICTOR MANUEL LAROSA – JONATHAN SANDERS-FREDDIE BLUE – JOSEPH MANN – SALVADO ELLSWOOD – SANDRA BLAND – ALBERT JOSEPH DAVIS – DARRIUS STEWART – BILLY RAY DAVIS – SAMUEL DUBOSE – MICHAEL SABBIE – BRIAN KEITH DAY – CHRISTIAN TAYLOR – TROY ROBINSON – ASSHAMS PHAROAH MANLEY – FELIX KUM I – KEITH HARRISON MCLEOD – JUNIOR PROSPER – LAMONTEZ JONES – PATERSON BROWN – DOMINIC HUTCHINSON – ANTHONY ASHFORD – ALONZO SMITH – TYREE CRAWFORD – INDIA KAGER – LA’VANTE BIGGS – MICHAEL LEE MARSHALL – JAMAR CLARK-RICHARD PERKINS – NATHANIEL HARRIS PICKETT – BENNI LEE TIGNOR – MIGUEL ESPINAL – MICHAEL NOEL – KEVIN MATTHEWS – BETTIE JONES – QUINTONIO LEGRIER – KEITH CHILDRESS JR. – JANET WILSON – RANDY NELSON – ANTRONIE SCOTT – WENDELL CELESTINE – DAVID JOSEPH – CALIN ROQUEMORE – DYZHAWN PERKINS – CHRISTOPHER DAVIS – MARCO LOUD – PETER GAINES – TORREY ROBINSON – DARIUS ROBINSON – KEVIN HICKS – MARY TRUXILLO – DEMARCUS SEMER – WILLIE TILLMAN – TERRILL THOMAS – SYLVILLE SMITH – ALTON STERLING – PHILANDO CASTILE – TERENCE CRUTCHER – PAUL O’NEAL – ALTERIA WOODS – JORDAN EDWARDS – AARON BAILEY – RONELL FOSTER – STEPHON CLARK – ANTWON ROSE II – BOTHAM JEAN – PAMELA TURNER – DOMINIQUE CLAYTON – ATATIANA JEFFERSON – CHRISTOPHER WHITFIELD – CHRISTOPHER MCCORVEY – ERIC REASON – MICHAEL LORENZO DEAN – BREONNA TAYLOR
G E O R G E – F L O Y D
Noah Berland
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